DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown campaigned in Dayton on Monday against President Bush's veto threat of a bill that would increase funding for a federal program that provides health insurance for children of the working poor.

"If we can increase children's health insurance the way that we want to, it will mean about 70,000 more children in Ohio, most of them sons and daughters of working parents, will have an opportunity to get health care," the Ohio Democrat said at an afternoon press conference at Children's Medical Center of Dayton.

Established in 1997, the current 10-year authorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program expires Sept. 30. The program is designed for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance.

While it covers an estimated 6 million children, another 8 million or so children in the United States remain uninsured, estimates show.

Both houses of Congress have passed bills to expand SCHIP to cover an additional 4 million to 5 million children during the next five years. The Senate's bill calls for an additional $35 billion in funding for five years; the House version calls for an additional $50 billion.

President Bush supports increased spending to an average of $6 billion per year, about a billion more than current spending levels, and has threatened to veto any bill that calls for more than that.

Without SCHIP and an increase in funding, more parents will delay seeking care for their children until they need to go to the emergency room, where care is more costly, said Vicki Giambrone, a spokeswoman for Children's Hospital.

"We think this is a program that's proven its worth," Giambrone said.

Brown said citizens should call or write their U.S. representatives and the White House to argue against a veto.

"This one is so obvious," he said. "It's worked for 10 years."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7408 or gottschlich@DaytonDailyNews.com.